The Office! A Musical Parody
Produced by The Theater Center
Experienced in New York ~ 2024
The Experience & How it Works:
You buy a ticket to a show, sit in the audience and peformers act and dance and sing for your entertainment.
Why it’s Interesting, IMHO:
The show takes IP across media. It takes a famous sitcom and turns it into both a stage show and a musical. It also plays with the idea of documentary and, according to Broadway.Com, takes the IP into immersive theatre territory as well.
Broadway.Com calls the show, “an interactive new musical based on the popular hit TV series.” However, it is definitely not interactive as there is no opportunity for the audience to interact with the cast in any way.
Broadway.Com also says, “Step into Dunder Mifflin in this immersive parody experience and ‘work’ with all your favorite officemates.” While one could say that, technically, it is immersive because it breaks the fourth wall and brings the audience into the storyworld of the show, there is no opportunity for you to ‘work’ with the characters and no feeling that you are officemates with them.
I’m always fascinated by how stories are told — and transform — across media. While this one scratches the itch of sitcom to stage musical, be warned that it is not interactive nor immersive in the way the marketing copy implies.
Initial Impression & Critical Discussion:
The minute you walk into the theatre, iconic set pieces from the TV show The Office are there to greet you and get you excited. When the proverbial curtain rises (there’s no actual curtain), it’s impressive how striking a resemblance the actors have to the cast of the office. They are by no means dopplegangers — and some play multiple characters — but they’ve done their homework and mastered mugging and mannerisms that are wonderfully reminiscent of the NBC cast members we know and love.
Fairly early on in the show, the characters notice and acknowledge a documentary crew filming them. While the sea of cameras is placed in the general direction of the audience, it is difficult to tell if we are supposed to be the documentary filmmakers or not. The marketing materials refer to the audience as “officemates” of the characters, but this relationship is not clear either. There are a couple of moments in the show where the cast comes close to the audience members in the front row, as if to confide in them or seek their reaction, but it’s not clear if they’re seeking our reaction as filmmakers, officemates, or the acknowledged audience of an Off-Broadway Show.
The show is quite strong as a whole. The performances are excellent, the lines and lyrics are funny, the melodies — some familiar — are catchier than those of shows that have recently won the Tony, and the story hangs together. Our one wish would be that the writers or directors make a clear decision on who the audience is (if they haven’t already), take an opportunity near the top of the show to make it unequivocally clear, and then be consistent in all other engagement of the audience.
HOT TIPS:
- Know the Show. This is most definitely a show for fans of the TV show The Office, specifically the American verson. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch most — if not all — of it before you go. There will be spoilers.
- Embrace the Front Row. It’s unclear whether one is able to select seats for this show. If you have the opportunity, don’t be shy about sitting up front. There’s no audience interactivity, so nothing to be afraid of, but the few times the actors come close to the front row and look right at you, do make you feel more a part of the experience.
- Say Hello. While the show doesn’t seem to be designed for mixing and mingling — and they will kick you out of the theatre not too long after it ends — this show brings together a clear community: people who like the TV Show The Office. So, you’ve already got something in common with the person sitting next to you, and you probably share a sense of humor. Say hello. Then maybe it won’t matter if you don’t interact with the actors; you’ll feel like you have a fun cubicle mate of your very own.
Experiential Viewpoint Expression (E.V.E.):
Disembodied, 1st person visual, 2nd person narrative, entity, mortal.
Occasionally, the cast will address or look directly at the audience, especially those in the front row, as if they are other than the documentary cameras. However, the audience does not truly feel like they are co-workers at Dunder Mifflin, despite some marketing materials referencing the cast as “your co-workers.”
Story Anchor:
When the employees at Dunder Miflin realize that a documentary crew is filming them, Michael instructs them to keep living their best lives, and then they learn that their branch is in danger of being shut down.
Pillars of Game:
Voluntary Participation — you bought a ticket, check!
Goal — none.
Rules — none.
Feedback — none.
Conclusion: This is not at all a game.
Who Should Experience This?
Fans of the TV show The Office who enjoy parody.
